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  • Essay / Bright Star - 1100

    Eliza Haywood is a visionary. In her love letter series, Love Letters on All Occasions, Haywood distinctly uses selected words, such as metaphors, to unconsciously drive home the message to the reader. Whether this strengthens the relationship between the two writers, or rather undermines it, the reader understands their relationship better through Haywood's choice words. In Haywood's collection Love Letters on All Occasions from his novel Fantomina and Other Works, two letters in particular, "Letter XXV" and "Letter XXVII", Haywood's use of metaphors and selected word choices help to reinforce the feeling between the writers and the reader. .In "Letter XXV", Haywood writes a letter from Theano to Elismonda. By reading the letter, the reader can clearly tell that Theano is madly in love with Elismonda. The fact that Haywood ends the letter by writing to Theano: "My most beloved and adored devotee of Elisamonda, Theano" (Haywood 196) might as well be the final sticker of the room Theano has constructed for Elismonda in his heart. Haywood's use of the phrase "zealous follower" is one of the occasions where she reinforces Theano's love for Elismonda. Other than that, the words “zealous” and “fervent” don’t mean much. The Oxford English Dictionary defines zeal as “having or showing zeal” (Oxford 1), meaning “great energy or enthusiasm in the pursuit of a cause or objective” (1). A practitioner is defined as “a person, such as a monk or nun, who has taken a vow to devote himself to religious service” (1). Haywood's combination of the two terms is a metaphor for Theano's devotion to Elismonda. He constantly shows great enthusiasm in the pursuit of Elismonda, which he considers almost like a religion. He is a "believer", but not like a monk or nun who does her... middle of paper... and knows he would never upset her. Haywood's response letter written by Elismonda to Theano uses choice language and references to her letters to reinforce readers' apprehension of the complete and utter love these two writers feel for each other. Haywood uses metaphors and selected word choices to help reinforce the feeling between the writers to the reader in two letters, "Letter XXV" and "Letter XXVII" in his collection Stories of Love on All Occasions from his novel Fantomina and other works. Unlike many works from this era, Theano and Elismonda are madly in love with each other and desire each other greatly. This is a rare case of a happy couple in the age of courtship fiction, where most tales often ended in tragedy. Haywood's account of Theano and Elismonda could be seen as one of the bright stars in an otherwise cloudy night sky..